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Fludyer was the eldest son of Samuel Fludyer, a London clothier
but originally from Frome in Somerset, and was educated at Westminster
School. He was by upbringing a religious dissenter, though in
later years he moved towards the established church. Joining his
father's business, he expanded it greatly until he was one of the
City's foremost merchants; by the time of his death his fortune was
said to amount to £900,000. (His younger brother, Sir Thomas, was
his junior partner in the company and was knighted at a City of
London reception for the King while Sir Samuel was Lord Mayor.)

Becoming a member of the Clothworkers'
Company, he was elected to Common
Council in 1734, became an alderman in 1751, was sheriff in 1754-1755 and Lord
Mayor in 1761-1762. In 1753 he also became a director of the Bank of
England, serving four terms, and was its deputy governor from
1766 until his death in 1768. In September 1755, in his capacity as
sheriff, he presented an address from the Lord Mayor, aldermen and
common council to George II expressing
satisfaction at the King's safe return from his German dominions,
and the King marked the occasion by knighting him. Four years
later, on 14 November 1759, he was raised to the dignity of a
baronetcy. The elaborate wig that he wore on becoming Lord Mayor in
1761 was depicted in William Hogarth's 1761 engraving Five Orders of
Periwigs.

In 1754, Fludyer entered Parliament, having spent £1,500 to
secure a seat at Chippenham in
Wiltshire; Chippenham was a textile town, and Fludyer cemented his
influence by agreeing to buy all its manufactured cloth at premium
prices, which played an important part in establishing the town's
prosperity. In the House of Commons he was generally considered a
supporter of the Whig government,
though not an absolutely reliable one; he is not recorded as having
ever spoken during his 14 years in the House. At the general election of 1761
he stood as parliamentary candidate for the City of
London, but despite having been one of the four victors on an
informal show of hands was defeated at the poll; however, as he had
taken the precaution of also being returned once more for
Chippenham, he remained an MP.

In his second Parliament he seems to have actively sought
government contracts for his business, which being an MP (with a
vote valuable to the government) he was well-placed to secure, and
in 1763 took over (in partnership with Adam Drummond) as contractor to the
Treasury as Paymaster to the British forces in the North American
colonies. When the Marquess
of Rockingham's government replaced George Grenville's he was on the list
of those whose contracts it was initially intended to cancel, but
notice to terminate was not given to him until July 1766; days
later Rockingham had resigned and Fludyer, by supporting the new Chatham
administration, saw his contract reinstated the following year.

He married twice: to Jane Clerke (d. 1757), by whom he had one
daughter; and to Caroline Brudenell (d. 1803), niece of the 3rd
Earl of Cardigan, who he married on 2 September 1758. They had two
sons:

Samuel Brudenell Fludyer (1759-1833), who succeeded to the
baronetcy, and was MP for Aldborough